The area of supply chain management is in a state of flux. This much can be said about a number of industries today, as rapid global and domestic changes affect the industry in various ways at variou…

The area of supply chain management is in a state of flux. This much can be said about a number of industries today, as rapid global and domestic changes affect the industry in various ways at various levels. A higher growth rate can be a very broad and general prediction, which again can be made without any particular reference to the supply chain management arena. So, what are the prospects for the supply chain management industry? With the trends and indications pointing to a major shuffle in the industry; there is a likeliness of a number of diverse, but related pointers.

Any estimate of the supply chain management industry should take into consideration a couple of dichotomous factors. One, savvy and affluent shoppers are likely to buy products that they are convinced are ecofriendly and are from outsourcing firms in which employee friendly policies such as employee empowerment and education are present.

At the other end, there is no denying the concern about the existence of China, Mexico and India as low-cost manufacturing hubs.

New technologies, new administration

Yet, one factor that cannot be taken away from this industry, despite the divergences in their trends, is that technology has pervaded it at unimaginable levels. There is consistent talk of robots taking up the place of our friendly sales boys or salesgirls at retail counters. There is also talk of Amazon using drone technologies to ship out products at blinding speed into the remotest of locations.

Plus, the supply chain management arena is waiting anxiously to see what policies the year-old Trump administration in the US is going to unveil for this sector. Any decision that is in consonance with its America First accent could make a difference to the industry, although there is no clarity at this point of time on what changes the new administration will bring, how it is going to affect the industry, and how long it is going to last.

The future of supply chain is thus poised for a potential interesting twist. To what extent will these factors converge? Or will they not do so at all, causing disruptions down the supply chain? Is the industry going to become much more globalized than it is today, or is it going to become more domestic and local as the years go by?

A webinar on the possibilities in the supply chain area

All these trends and assumptions will be discussed at a highly interesting webinar from Compliance4All, a leading provider of professional trainings for all the areas of regulatory compliance. At this webinar, founder of The Logistics of Logistics, a logistics training and consulting firm, Joe Lynch, will be the speaker and will offer his insights and understanding of what to expect of the future of supply chain.

At the core of this session is a proper understanding of supply chain trends that will dramatically impact business over the 2-5 years. Joe will explain important areas of the supply chain industry, such as why purchasing decisions must consider transparency and sustainability, why the triple bottom line consisting of people, planet and people is becoming increasingly important, and how last mile delivery will change the way retailers conduct business. Participants will learn the advantage of having production closer to consumers.

Why sustainable supply chains will become more mainstream, especially among luxury buyers and millennials

Why low-cost country sourcing will be replaced by production closer to consumers

How same day/next day delivery will transform retailing (brick & mortar and online)

Fulfillment without people

Technologies that will power the supply chain transformation.

This session will be of high significance to personnel involved in the many areas of supply chain, which include supply chain and operations consultants, transportation brokers, food production professionals, 3PLs providers, retailers, logistics companies, transportation companies including -trucking, sea freight, air freight and intermodal companies, and warehousing companies that store, handle, package and process food.

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